Aggies’ standout LB Claiborne arrested on 2 drug possession charges

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M freshman standout linebacker Darian Claiborne is considered a future anchor of the Aggies defense, but that designation might be put on hold for a bit based on his sudden legal troubles in Brazos County.

Claiborne, who earned SEC all-freshman team honors after he led the Aggies with 89 tackles in the regular season, was arrested on Sunday on charges of possession of a dangerous drug, and for possession of less* than two ounces of marijuana, according to the Brazos County Jail website.

A&M has responded by suspending Claiborne following the arrest “per athletics department policy,” and announced he will not travel to Atlanta for A&M’s bowl game. The 8-4 Aggies will take on 10-3 Duke on New Year’s Eve in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Claiborne, a former Port Allen (La.) star, chose A&M over Arkansas, Nebraska, TCU and Texas Tech, among others. His seven tackles for loss led A&M, which struggled on defense for much of the season.

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* The original blog post erroneously said “more” than two ounces — Brent Zwerneman